JOLLY DAYS

Simple Honor

I don't read much art criticism. When I do I prefer it be written by poets or people outside the highly ideological clime of the artworld. That is, people who can see what is in front of them, bring hard won insight to the work, and have the skills to communicate what is often outside the range of simple prose. A book by a NYT art critic is reviewed here.

If chief art critic for The New York Times, Michael Kimmelman does what the book reviewer says he does, more power to him:

[Kimmelman's] point here…is…the whole idea of taking time - over art…And that dogma - in art criticism, and not only in art criticism - is a form of impatience….he has found a way of writing about artists that doesn't turn them into celebrities. What Mr. Kimmelman finds alluring about artists is the quality of their attention.

The reviewer says about Kimmelman's approach, “The risk of writing plain-style enthusiastic art criticism…”

When a reviewer needs to indicate an honorable approach to writing art criticism is a risk it tells you something about the present state of the field.